svelte

svelte
/svelt, sfelt/, adj., svelter, sveltest.
1. slender, esp. gracefully slender in figure; lithe.
2. suave; blandly urbane.
[1810-20; < F < It svelto < VL *exvellitus pulled out (r. L evulsus, ptp. of evellere), equiv. to L ex- EX- + velli-, var. s. of vellere to pull, pluck + -tus ptp. suffix]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • svelte — [ svɛlt ] adj. • 1642, répandu XVIIIe; it. svelto, de svellere, svegliere « arracher, dégager » ♦ Arts Qui produit une impression de légèreté, d élégance, par sa forme élancée, sa finesse. ⇒ dégagé, 2. fin, léger. « Dôme svelte » (Voltaire). ♢… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • svelte´ly — svelte «svehlt», adjective. slender; lithe; slim; willowy: »This dazzling, svelte charmer…wheedles her way into our hearts with stunning brilliance (London Times). ╂[< French svelte < Italian svelto (literally) past participle of svellere… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Svelte — may refer to:* A Svelte Appendix to the Postmodern Question, a paper written by the philosopher Jean François Lyotard. * Big Fat Hunka Cheese s Quest Restored Svelte, a children s book promoting weight loss by Sherman Neusom …   Wikipedia

  • Svelte — war eine französische Automarke. Unternehmensgeschichte Das Unternehmen SA des Constructions Mécaniques de la Loire aus Saint Étienne begann 1906 mit der Produktion von Automobilen, die als Svelte vermarktet wurden. 1907 wurde die Produktion nach …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • svelte — svelte; svelte·ly; svelte·ness; …   English syllables

  • svelte — [svelt] adj literary [Date: 1800 1900; : French; Origin: Italian svelto stretched , from svellere to pull out ] thin and graceful = ↑lithe ▪ She was slim, svelte, and sophisticated …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • svelte — (adj.) slender, lithe, c.1817, from Fr. svelte slim, slender, from It. svelto slim, slender, originally pulled out, lengthened, from pp. of svellere to pluck or root out, from V.L. *exvellere, from L. ex out (see EX (Cf. ex )) + …   Etymology dictionary

  • svelte — [svelt, sfelt] adj. [Fr < It svelto, pp. of svegliere, to pull out, hence, to free < VL * exvellere, for L evellere, to pluck out < e , out + vellere, to pluck: see VELLICATE] 1. slender and graceful; lithe: used chiefly of women 2.… …   English World dictionary

  • svelte — [ svelt ] adjective graceful, thin, and attractive …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • svelte — [adj] thin and well built graceful, lean, lissom, lithe, slender, slinky, smooth, sylphlike, willowy; concepts 490,491 Ant. chubby, corpulent, fat, thick …   New thesaurus

  • svelte — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ slender and elegant. ORIGIN Italian svelto …   English terms dictionary

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